Darwins Bass - The evolutionary psychology of a fishing man

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Normal guppies occasionally avoid the bass, but most are eaten in time. Timid guppies, which hide in the corner as soon as they detect the bass, have a much higher survival rate.

This is hardly surprising, but it is a clear illustration of how emotions can affect survival and therefore evolution. The author uses human fear of snakes as a contrasting example. Most humans have a seemingly innate fear of snakes, though cultural factors also support this prejudice.

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Her family is forced to protect her from pictures of snakes, toy snakes, and anything remotely snake-like. Through therapy, she gradually learns to control this fear, and in time is able to hold a rubber snake, although she does not enjoy it. She has changed her response to the stimulus, and thus separated herself from the animal world. The ending chapters deal with the complexity of the human mind.

Discussed with an almost religious reverence, the mind is portrayed as the result of all evolution. The author is careful to state that the mind is an unfinished work, and as such is imperfect. One of these imperfections is its inability to describe itself. Another is its attachment to time. Fishing can help the human mind conquer time.

The author describes how angling is like hypnosis with the dangling watch fob replaced by the repeated castings of the fishing line. An afternoon fishing passes in a matter of minutes.



If you do not have time to fish or make love, the author states, what are you really living for? Aging is a result of time, and the author takes great lengths to explain the causes of decline. Salmon die almost immediately after their first mating. Humans are much better off, but there is no beating the clock.

Males are much worse off than females, partly because they engage in activities that increase their chance of being killed. This is true for both animals and humans, but once again, the human has a choice not to engage in risky behavior. For a salmon, refusing to spawn removes your genes and therefore that behavior from the gene pool. For a human, refusing to engage in high-risk activities simply lowers your chance of dying earlier than you have to. There is one high-risk behavior in particular that reminds us of the salmon that refuses to spawn: The angler now becomes the psychologist.

An expert on suicide, he explains that suicide is often a result of not finding a reason to live, and that this is a uniquely human artifice.

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He suggests that by getting more in touch with our animal nature, such as lust for the grab, we can become happier and more successful humans. To the author, fishing is the ultimate adaptation for the problems of modern life. In conclusion, I found this book to be a mildly entertaining collection of life affirming stories.